Tour De France 2014

No Wiggo, no David Millar, no Dowsett, no Kennaugh, no Swift, no Stannard, no Steve Cummings so unless Orica take one or both of the Yates boys, there's only three Brits this year.

Admittedly two are previous jersey winners, but still, bummer for Yorkshire.

So who's going to win? I'm going Contador although you never know with him, depends what he's been eating. Froome to fall on the cobbles somewhere and never quite make it back in.

No Wiggo, no David Millar, no Dowsett, no Kennaugh, no Swift, no Stannard, no Steve Cummings so unless Orica take one or both of the Yates boys, there's only three Brits this year.

 

Admittedly two are previous jersey winners, but still, bummer for Yorkshire.

 

So who's going to win? I'm going Contador although you never know with him, depends what he's been eating. Froome to fall on the cobbles somewhere and never quite make it back in.

Yeah, pretty disappointing line ups really. Some of the shine of it starting in the UK has been taken off.

Tejay Van Garderen at 50-1 worth a shout i think. Now there is no Cadel Evans he is the teams main man.

50-1? Wow. I know nobody is really looking outside of Froome/Contador/Nibali but that sounds amazingly long for a guy who has to be considered a serious contender. BMC are a strong team.

Contador I reckon for the yellow but Costa is looking very strong as well. Contador looked great in the Dauphin and Costa in the Tour of Switzerland. I'm just hoping for some excellent stage wins for OPQS and that Belkin do really well and secure a sponsor for next season.

With Sky leaving out Wiggo and the other Brits then, personally, I hope they have a utterly sh11t tour.

Ahh, thought this was a tour de france fitties thread.... Boooooo

Rui Costa - Yellow

Sagan - Green

No stage wins for Cav

Rui Costa - Yellow

Sagan - Green

No stage wins for Cav

surely he will win the short stage into London

surely he will win the short stage into London

OPQS will go balls out to give him stage 1 that's for sure.

he's still the best sprinter in the Tour IMHO.

Anybody going?

We are going up to Halifax on Thursday night (group of 9), middle-size ride and beers on the Friday, we are going to Cray to watch on the Saturday with a 100k ride and big beers + BBQ in the evening, then going to a friend's cricket club to watch a big screen and it goes right by the door on the Sunday. Strongly fancy Cav to win on the Saturday, hopefully the overall isn't spoilt by wind or crashes on the cobbles next week, and then who knows?

Anybody going to France? We haven't been for a couple of years and I wasn't really bothered this year but I'm getting itchy feet now. We might go to Paris for the Sunday, never been to that, friends went last year and said it was awesome day out.

Simon Yates also made it (Adam didn't) so it's four Brits in the tour. Just need one of the OPQS hardmen to take out Kittel on stage one and we should be good...

Planning on going to the 'Col du Holme Moss' on day 2.

Coming to my town this weekend and will be going almost past my front door.

Coming to my town this weekend and will be going almost past my front door.

Will we see you and your giant foam hand, on the TV?

surely he will win the short stage into London

First two predictions were genuine. It would some up Britain's dismal sporting summer so far if the third one happened. Personally I am looking forward to Stages 2 and 5. Cliche I know but there is scope for the tour, if not to be won, then to be to be lost on these two days. I started the TdF 2014 thread a few weeks ago in anticipation. Seems like a got a bit of a false start so mods feel free to lock it. This is what I thought then. http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?50509-Tour-de-France-Thread-2014#.U7RuFbFtQd4

anyone watching today,.

The helicopter pilot is some sort of stuntman, getting into very strange places.

Amazed by the amount of people along the route. Have watched the Tour for years, but cant remember seeing that many people, even on the Alp D`uez.

Garmin-Sharp have a rider called Jack Bauer. There's going to be some deaths!

Jens voigt - king of the mountains at 42 years old. Respect.

Brilliant entertainment from The Jensie. Stunning crowds on route. Buttertubs was something else. Would love to see Cav nail this one but it has got a kick up on the run in which might be more suited to Greipel, Degenkolb, Demare or even Sagan.

Question is, which top to wear tomorrow ? ASTANA or Saints ? ( Or ASTANA short sleeved over SFC long sleeved ) ?

Is that Cav out ?

that looked like Cav was to blame for that

that looked like Cav was to blame for that

Definately leaning in to Gerrans. Doesn't look good though. Looks like a collarbone. Hit the deck a couple of years ago like that. (clipped parked car I'm afraid) Fractured ball joint in humerus. Ouch!

That was a bit good.

Gutted for Cav' though.

Daughter watched it in Otley with boyfriend's family. Said she had fanatastic time. Got a brilliant shot of 'Froome Dawg' riding through. Can't wait to sort out retirement. Move to Lincolnshire (cheap compared to Wokingham) and be within striking distance of all that riding.

Cav's confirmed as out of the tour.

Spent a good day at the hairpin at the bottom of the descent from Holme Moss, the turn onto Woodhead Pass - on the phone to the Mrs as the race went past only to be told that ITV had gone to an advert break.

Well the atmosphere in Harrogate this weekend has been incredible. The town centre was absolutely rammed yesterday, bands, stools, streets lined, thousands upon thousands of people. Was in town for the finish but could get near the final stretch to see any of it.

This morning it went virtually past my front door and the streets were packed. Proud of my adopted home town this weekend, it was almost like the Olympics atmosphere. Definitely something that will be talked about for years in this usually quiet spa town.

Awesome weekend! We went up on the Friday and rode a chunk of stage 2 including Crag Vale, Ripponden bank and Elland, 45km with over 1000m of vertical. Saturday we parked in Shipley and rode over the top to Ilkley to see them early doors, then over a big top to Harrogate for the finish, we couldn’t get near the course and watched it on a big screen at a hotel, back over to Otley and back up to the cars (up’s a word you use a lot when cycling in Yorkshire), 82km and 1100m. Yesterday we rode the course down from Elland to Huddersfield up through Holmfirth and up Holme Moss. Just a stunning day, 8 am depart and we started with a 10km downhill on closed road into Huddersfield (70kmh) and through the barriererd-up town centre, then the long pretty drag to Holmfirth then Holme Moss, amazing crowds, must have been 30-40 thousand on there at 10-00 in the morning. Dropped back to a pub in Holme with beer/band/BBQ, saw the tour again then the big scramble back to Huddersfield and back up to the cars, 60km and about 700m. Unbelievable the way the Yorks public have embraced this weekend, just about every house and street on the route was decorated, I reckon they must have got their money back 10 times over, there will be people riding these routes for years to come. Back at work at 7-15 this morning!

shame the people of Yorkshire ruined parts of it, with teams and riders complaining.

shame the people of Yorkshire ruined parts of it, with teams and riders complaining.

I think a lot more people turned out than the organisers had planned for. People have seen the Alpine and Pyrenean stages on the TV and see how the roads get congested near the tops of the climbs - with this probably being their only chance in their lifetime to see the spectacle they wanted to emulate these scenes. Add to this a lack of true understanding of how the race functions - the worst aspect where we were was that after the peloton had passed many in the crowd assumed the race had gone and started spilling out onto the road, not realising there were still a couple of Lampre riders straggling along a few minutes back with the Broom Wagon, etc, behind them.

Also, remember it wasn't just the Yorkies - all of us 'Northern Monkeys' were swarming over t'hills; Lancastrians ( and Mancs are included in that ) and the good folk of Derbyshire were out in vast numbers. There were also people from the Potteries, Cheshire, Cumbria, and Wales, ( and it appears a fair few from south of Watford Gap ).

Stage 5 is going to be brutal. Excellent preview video done by the fellas at GCN.

Also, remember it wasn't just the Yorkies - all of us 'Northern Monkeys' were swarming over t'hills; Lancastrians ( and Mancs are included in that ) and the good folk of Derbyshire were out in vast numbers. There were also people from the Potteries, Cheshire, Cumbria, and Wales, ( and it appears a fair few from south of Watford Gap ).

But no scousers, otherwise the competitors would have woken up to find they had no bikes to ride that day.

TOWIE does TdF.

Watched it just outside Epping yesterday. Great fun & atmosphere & not 7 deep.

Lol at Essexman out there with his sofa & bubbly

Froome out. Conditions atrocious, carnage.

Good result for Nibali.

Froome to fall on the cobbles somewhere and never quite make it back in.

I got the correct stage for Froome to fall but didn't think it would be before the cobbles began... Sheesh. Can I get partial ITK status for that?

Now that was proper.

For a flat stage, that has to be the hardest tdf stage ever.

Now that was proper.

Now following Boom and Niki Terpstra. The speeds over the cobbles in those conditions are pretty eye watering.

Contador I reckon for the yellow but Costa is looking very strong as well. Contador looked great in the Dauphin and Costa in the Tour of Switzerland. I'm just hoping for some excellent stage wins for OPQS and that Belkin do really well and secure a sponsor for next season.

 

With Sky leaving out Wiggo and the other Brits then, personally, I hope they have a utterly sh11t tour.

Two so far and it was epic from Tony Martin today.

Two so far and it was epic from Tony Martin today.

Makes up for his near miss in last year's Vuelta - 4 pedal strokes from the finish when he got caught.

Makes up for his near miss in last year's Vuelta - 4 pedal strokes from the finish when he got caught.

 

Great stuff by TM. Felt for him in last year's Vuelta. This year's is going to be something else with both Bertie and Froome out of TdF.

Contador quits tour after crashing.

Contador quits tour after crashing.

reports that he hit a bike that fell off the roof of his own teams car.

That looked nails today.

Think we are off to the Vosges next summer for some riding.

Alpe D'Huez and Ventoux in May with the Mrs.

That looked nails today.

 

Think we are off to the Vosges next summer for some riding.

 

Alpe D'Huez and Ventoux in May with the Mrs.

Agree the PDBF looks a toughie especially on the back of the other categorised climbs.

Should be France bound early next July if early retirement plans come to fruition. As the resident geographer I've been tasked with looking at potential routes. At present it's looking like Huez may be the likely base. Got some potential routes in mind already.

A backward Marmotte. Up the Lauteret, Galibier then descending into Maurienne valley via the Telgraphe and then going up and over the Glandon and then the Alpe to finish off.

Les Deux Alps as an out and back from Bourg D,Oisans (basically a 25 mile mountain TT)

A loop from Bourg d'Oisans over the Ornon and Col de Morte.

A couple of acclimatisers

The Sarenne ascent and a loop that goes out as if on La Marmotte , but turns off shortly after the first turn on the Allemont road and goes back to Huez via Villard Reculas.

How many of these I will actually be able to do is a bit of a concern at the moment. Others planning to go are younger/faster and have been to the Alps at least twice before with three Marmotte veterans included.

OGE have pulled Yates who, to his credit, has been awesome for a nipper.